Applied Blockchain has been trialling a system for companies to process their invoices on blockchain and in turn will allow the companies to tap the securitization markets; the current trial is with a UK SME called Emplas that makes windows; "Our platform may now allow for securitization of invoices as the underlying for bond issues," Ben-Ari, Founder of Applied Blockchain, tells Euromoney; "It brings transparency as to the ownership and establishes the provenance of invoices for bond buyers in ways that the existing processes and technology simply did not allow." Source
UK listed marketplace lending fund, P2P Global Investments, has reported struggling performance in 2016; monthly return in September was 0.23% for a year-to-date return of 3.41%; target annual return is 6% to 8%; peripheral factors such as debt facilities and currency hedges have affected the return; the fund is now selling at a discount of 19.8%; has been steadily buying back shares to help improve the NAV and also using securitization to reduce debt costs; loan defaults and delinquencies have been higher as a result of longer maturities, however the primary factor affecting the return is the broad global diversification of the loans resulting in losses from currency hedging. Source
According to a report by Bloomberg, four bonds comprised of online consumer lending loans have reached or are approaching trigger levels; the four bonds include three securitizations by Avant and one by CircleBack Lending; according to one source, two of Avant's securities breached triggers this month for the first time; the four offerings total over $500 million in size. Source
Kroll Bond Rating Agency has assigned preliminary ratings to a LendingClub securitization portfolio; the loan securitization, LendingClub Issuance Trust, Series 2016-NP2 (LCIT 2016-NP2), is valued at $101.75 million and includes two classes of notes with LendingClub consumer loans; the class A tranche which accounts for 84% of the deal at $85.3 million, is rated BBB; the class B tranche accounts for 16% at $16.4 million and is rated BB+. Source
In an outlook from Moody's, the rating agency says marketplace lending securitization performance is likely to be stable in 2017; outlook says marketplace lenders have strengthened their business models resulting in improved credit characteristics for the loans backing new securitizations; increased confidence in marketplace lending best practices is likely to continue however performance of loans may vary by category and economic conditions may also be a factor. Source
PeerIQ has released its monthly marketplace lending update for October; focus of the report is on the 2017 forecast for marketplace lending securitizations; PeerIQ forecasts 47% year-over-year growth ($11.3 billion) in new ABS issuance with 52% growth in new originations for its base case estimate; sees high demand continuing for securitized products however institutional investors will likely be more interested in shorter duration loans to manage interest rate risk as US rates are expected to rise; PeerIQ reports continued support from rating agencies with high ratings; expects leading securitization issuers in 2017 to be SoFi, Avant and Marlette. Source
In an interview with P2P Finance News, Adair Turner cites P2P loan securitizations and other evolving forms of structured credit as high risk, causing a potential "red flashing light" for regulators; speaks of the evolution of the asset class as securitization portfolios from P2P lenders have been increasing in 2016; discusses complex structured investment vehicles as the most high risk specifically those issuing short term debt against longer term holdings. Source
Alibaba-backed Ant Financial sold $578 million worth of securities backed against small loans granted to consumers on "Double 11" day, the festival to celebrate singlehood and the world's largest online shopping day; Chongqing Alibaba Small Loan provided the underlying loans for the asset-backed security through an online consumer credit portal, Ant Check Later ("Huabei" in Chinese); the Shanghai Stock Exchange approved the offering and allowed it to be privately placed last Monday to qualified institutional investors. Source
In a report on the structured finance market, Fitch Ratings provides an outlook for 2017; says losses from auto loan asset-backed securities could increase with rising defaults; also notes increased risk from marketplace lenders and industry securitizations which have been reporting higher delinquency and loss rates; says the best performance is likely to be from residential mortgage and commercial mortgage securitizations. Source
SoFi has received preliminary ratings from Kroll Bond Rating Agency for a securitization portfolio including prime jumbo residential mortgage loans; the securitization includes 36 classes with 270 mortgage loans; 31 classes are rated AAA; the remaining classes are rated AA to B with one unrated class accounting for $1 million of the portfolio; the portfolio includes high quality mortgage loans with a comprehensive weighted average credit score of 777; the total principal balance of the portfolio is $168,790,946. Source